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Posted: Aug 25, 2008

New podcast discusses nanotechnology risk management issues

(Nanowerk News) ACE USA, the U.S.-based retail operating division of the ACE Group of Companies, today launched a new audio podcast (or Internet-distributed program), discussing the risk management issues and challenges associated with rapidly evolving nanotechnologies as medical research and government regulation lag marketing development. In the podcast, Connie Germano, Senior Vice President, ACE Casualty Risk, discusses her white paper that was recently published in The John Liner Review's Summer 2008 issue, "Managing the Emerging Risks of Nanotechnology," and provides an informative overview of the wide array of industries that are beginning to reap the potential of the staggeringly small world of nanotechnology.

"In products from sunscreen to industrial coatings, consumers are seeing the benefits of products built with materials measured in billionths of a meter. Nanotechnology offers vast promise and commercial opportunities. Opportunity, however, goes hand in hand with risk," said Ms. Germano. "Nanotechnology adds an entirely new and largely unexplored realm of risks spread across the entire spectrum of modern commerce. These emerging risks require a sophisticated approach by risk managers and businesses. These risks carry with them the potential for far-reaching effects on market cycles, manufacturing, and the safety, security, and well-being of consumers. The task of identifying these risks is complicated by the fact that scientists are still discovering how nanoparticles perform in manufactured products and how they react with humans and the environment."

Ms. Germano commented further on her findings, "In addition, corporate risk managers may not have recognized yet the role that nanotechnology is already playing, or will be playing, in their own businesses. As nanotechnology plays a growing role in commerce, insurers and underwriters will be increasingly taking these risks into account. Risk managers and insurers should strive to keep ahead of the issue of risk identification as nanotechnology makes its impact felt in the manufacturing, legislative, regulatory, and legal arenas, as well as in the realm of insurance underwriting."

To access the ACE Casualty Risk audio podcast program (approximately 20 minutes in length), please visit http://www.aceusa.com/podcasts. To access the white paper, please visit: www.aceusa.com/News/Pages/ArticlesSpeeches.aspx. The material presented in the podcast is not intended to provide legal or other expert advice. It is presented for general information only. Listeners of this podcast should consult legal counsel or other experts, as applicable, with any questions.

ACE Casualty Risk, a division of ACE USA, specializes in lead umbrella and excess liability, custom primary casualty, construction, environmental liability, public entity, and middle market workers compensation insurance products and services, which are primarily distributed through the retail brokerage community to the commercial market. To learn more about ACE Casualty Risk's products and services, please visit www.aceusa.com.

Source: ACE USA

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